The Pantheon
Sunday, 19th February 2006 by
The Pantheon in Rome was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the Roman state religion, but has been a Christian church since the 7th century. It is the best-preserved of all Roman buildings and the oldest important building in the world with its original roof intact.
Brandon Rowan from Rome says:
It has a massive hole at the top and it lets in sunlight. It is not glass covered, but there are drainage holes in the floor for rain. It's amazing how bright it is. There is always a massive light circle on the floor. You have to visit this if you go to Rome.
Thanks Gerhard, Frank & Brandon
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It might be stretching it to say the original roof is intact. The inside was covered in bronze until the St Peter’s Basilica was built just down the road and took the bronze for a huge altar type thing.
Wouldn’t that be the cieling then, and not the roof? The roof is still there, which is impressive, since millennia-old domes tend not to stay up.
My father was in there a few years ago and the tourist-guide said that the romans go mad if you say “hole” in the roof. It´s an “oppening” or a “passage”. Any romans who can confirm?
It’s actually called Oculus and probably “opening” is what describes it best. As usual Wikipedia gives more info.
I took an Art History class last semester so I’m familiar with the Pantheon. The opening in the top is indeed an oculus. However, the Pantheon is more importantly (I believe) the oldest self-supporting domed building in the world today.
Don’t forget Nashville, TN, USA has a replica of the Parthenon. 2600 W End Ave, Nashville, TN 36° 08’58.52” N 86° 48’48.61” W Elev 523 Ft
Paul, this is the Pantheon, not the Parthenon – we do have a thread for that too though! For those interested, this is the satelite image of Nashville’s replica of the Parthenon.
Does the Pantheon have an official website? …a place where the hours of operation and/or events might be identified?
Ron, I’ve been looking for an official site and haven’t found one. Probably because it’s a functioning church and not a museum.
Regarding whether the roof is original or not: The bronze that was removed (for cannon for Castel S. Angelo and the baldachine at St. Peter’s) was taken from the porch ceiling and beams — it was decorative. This is why we can now see the structural members. The dome itself was originally covered with gilded bronze roof tiles, but these were stripped off in 663 by Emperor Constantine’s son and shipped off to Byzantium. Unfortunately they never made it, as they were intercepted by Arab corsairs near Sicily. A replacement covering, made of lead, was installed in the 8th century.
I’ve always thought it would be cool to be in the Pantheon, under the oculus, during a rainstorm with thunder and lightning!